The new Mastodon album has been rocking my face off since I picked it up, what a great fucking album. Also been listening to a bunch of Dozer, thanks to a recommendation by Kratz, as well as my mainstay of melodic death metal (Soilwork, Children of Bodom, etc.).

And I will never understand the appeal of viking and dnd metal. Listening to songs about hobbits and dragons is just about the saddest thing I can think of. And I've never even heard of pirate metal, but it sounds about as awful.

And I will never understand the appeal of viking and dnd metal. Listening to songs about hobbits and dragons is just about the saddest thing I can think of. And I've never even heard of pirate metal, but it sounds about as awful.

It isn't the subject matter that's appealing, it's the Scandinavian folk music influences. Hell, Finntroll's lyrics are all in a different language. I don't have a clue what they're actually singing/growling about, but I totally dig the musical style.

- Check out Cynic's Traced in Air album. Probably considered more progressive than melodeath, but it's pretty damn amazing- I really liked Darkwell's Metatron album, but that would depend on how you feel about operatic female singers in your metal- Theater of Tragedy's old stuff was good, before they started churning out crappy electronica.

And I will never understand the appeal of viking and dnd metal. Listening to songs about hobbits and dragons is just about the saddest thing I can think of. And I've never even heard of pirate metal, but it sounds about as awful.

It isn't the subject matter that's appealing, it's the Scandinavian folk music influences. Hell, Finntroll's lyrics are all in a different language. I don't have a clue what they're actually singing/growling about, but I totally dig the musical style.

I think you nailed it Gratch. It's all about the influences. It adds a whole new dimension to the music. Correct me if I'm wrong but, I believe it was Amorphis that brought the Finnish influences into their music and it really blossomed from there.

The new Mastodon album has been rocking my face off since I picked it up, what a great fucking album. Also been listening to a bunch of Dozer, thanks to a recommendation by Kratz, as well as my mainstay of melodic death metal (Soilwork, Children of Bodom, etc.).

And I will never understand the appeal of viking and dnd metal. Listening to songs about hobbits and dragons is just about the saddest thing I can think of. And I've never even heard of pirate metal, but it sounds about as awful.

As a staunch Norwegian metal fan, I've found myself listening to alot of American stuff lately. I picked up some All That Remains albums (The Fall of Ideals and Overcome) and I can't get enough. I'm listening to alot of Killswitch Engage and Shadows Fall too. Oh and I just bought As I Lay Dying (Shadows Are Security) which I'm really digging too.

I've been listening to a bit of Meshuggah lately (Chaosphere, Destroy, Erase, Improve) and really liking it. I read somewhere that their sound is like a band of Terminators which describes it well. They are doing some stuff with drums and time signatures that make me scratch my head.

I've been listening to a bit of Meshuggah lately (Chaosphere, Destroy, Erase, Improve) and really liking it. I read somewhere that their sound is like a band of Terminators which describes it well. They are doing some stuff with drums and time signatures that make me scratch my head.

I've never been able to get into them for some reason. They're ridiculously talented and should be right up my alley, but something about them just rubs me wrong. Maybe I need to give it another shot...

Amon Amarth-Twilight of the Thunder God...Album is freakin awesome!! first Amon stuff i've listened to and it rocksIced Earth- Framing Armageddon....yikes, wish i could return opened cd's. i really don't see the appeal with this band. i wasted my money on this junk.

other stuff i'm listening too

Trivium- Shogun....best album i've listened to in quite a while. awesome awesome stuffLamb of God- Wraith....damn heavy and great kick ass vocals.Five Finger Death Punch- The Way of the Fist...really really good album too. i know it's a year old, but i bought it a month ago and can't quit playing it.

i had Otep's new album in my hand and bought Iced Earth instead. what the hell was i thinking?

Amon Amarth-Twilight of the Thunder God...Album is freakin awesome!! first Amon stuff i've listened to and it rocksIced Earth- Framing Armageddon....yikes, wish i could return opened cd's. i really don't see the appeal with this band. i wasted my money on this junk.

other stuff i'm listening too

Trivium- Shogun....best album i've listened to in quite a while. awesome awesome stuffLamb of God- Wraith....damn heavy and great kick ass vocals.Five Finger Death Punch- The Way of the Fist...really really good album too. i know it's a year old, but i bought it a month ago and can't quit playing it.

i had Otep's new album in my hand and bought Iced Earth instead. what the hell was i thinking?

on the Amon Amarth...

As for Iced Earth... I'd definitely recommend their earlier work. s/t up through Horror Show is good. If you can find the double disc version of Days Of Purgatory it has most of the songs from the first three albums with IE's signature vocalist Matthew Barlow. Their third album Burnt Offerings has one of my favorite all time songs the 16+ minute dark epic Dante's Inferno.

The past two have been kind of a letdown, and yet Otep is so much worse than anything Iced Earth has put out. Really it's not even close.

I listened to a few of these bands... definitely not my style of metal.

I thought Iced Earth was okay in a sort of Judas Priesty sort of way, but not great.

Opeth was godawful.

Amon Amarth, I was 100% on board with the riffs at the beginning of the songs I listened to... then the vocals came in and it completely ruined it.

My punk rock friends have all gotten really into Municipal Waste lately... definitely an 80s punk/metal/thrash sort of thing... I'm not a huge fan of that vocal style either, but they do some cool stuff, stray into Slayer territory regularly, which I like and play fast as hell. I can definitely listen to it and enjoy it, unlike the cookie monster and 'I'm so dark' style metal...

I never got the lovefest with Opeth either. Saw them live and they left me cold. (I wouldn't go so far as to say they are godawful, however) I dunno maybe I just need to give several spins to their stuff to really get it, but initial impressions were not good so I never really looked into them.

Anyhow kratz if you are into old school thrash you should check out Dark Angel. They are a criminally underrated Bay area thrash band from back in the thrash heydey. Darkness Descends is my favorite album of theirs.

I'm really *not* into old school thrash... I like Slayer stuff once they morphed into a more metal band, and while Kill Em All is one of my favorites, it isn't really representative. I always liked to keep my punk separate from my metal.

Opeth just seems representative of these new crappy 'metal' bands... all of the things I *don't* like in metal. Though I'd probably rather listen to them than something like Slipknot. *shudder*

Opeth just seems representative of these new crappy 'metal' bands... all of the things I *don't* like in metal.

Outside of the cookie monster vocals (which I gather you're not a fan of), what it that you don't like about them? I've always considered Opeth to be very good in terms of composition and song structure (the complexity and variation - especially in their newer stuff - is what drew me to them in the first place), but maybe that's just me listening with my amateur ear.

Opeth just seems representative of these new crappy 'metal' bands... all of the things I *don't* like in metal.

Outside of the cookie monster vocals (which I gather you're not a fan of), what it that you don't like about them? I've always considered Opeth to be very good in terms of composition and song structure (the complexity and variation - especially in their newer stuff - is what drew me to them in the first place), but maybe that's just me listening with my amateur ear.

Just curious.

Keep in mind this is what Kratz doens't like.. doesn't mean it's bad He just has fairly particular tastes in music. He ridicules my musical tastes all the time

Opeth just seems representative of these new crappy 'metal' bands... all of the things I *don't* like in metal.

Outside of the cookie monster vocals (which I gather you're not a fan of), what it that you don't like about them? I've always considered Opeth to be very good in terms of composition and song structure (the complexity and variation - especially in their newer stuff - is what drew me to them in the first place), but maybe that's just me listening with my amateur ear.

Just curious.

Okay... well...

Most importantly, I just don't think it's very interesting or engaging.

Guitar sounds are washed out, dated, and lifeless.

Vocals are shit. Melodramatic when clean, and indistinguishable from any other cookie monster when cookie monstering.

Lyrics are cheese city. Melodramatic. Trite. Juvenile in a way that's stupid instead of funny or clever.

Songwriting is overall quite boring to me... no good hook, no good groove... they rarely seem to be able to just sustain rocking for very long.

Also, the videos I'm watching to listen to them are idiotic.

There is nothing dangerous about this music... to me it sounds like metal for people who don't really like metal, or who don't want any surprises... not that I guess I think musical surprises are necessary all the time... I love AC/DC, and they haven't surprised anyone in 30 years... maybe that's the wrong way to put it... hrm...

Top to bottom it's just very slick, produced, and safe... very 'done'... it sounds like a computer wrote it.

Also, I keep running into these kind of power ballad sorts of things that they are doing with pretty singing and crap... fuckin' kill me. It's awful. Fuck, yeah, I just ran into this song 'Burden', and I can now just declare this band fucking awful. Ugh... you guys are just making me listen to more and hate them more. SO TERRIBLE!

Oh, and I thought of one more... it tries too hard... at the wrong things. Like a metal band should only try hard at rockin'.

gave Amon Amarth a couple more listens and i still like it....pleased with the purchase.

however.....anyone else but me listen to Trivium? damnit if Shogun isn't a bad arse album. there are a couple songs on that album that i can listen to over and over and it still rocks. if you haven't listened to them much, do yourself a favor and do so

Opeth just seems representative of these new crappy 'metal' bands... all of the things I *don't* like in metal.

Outside of the cookie monster vocals (which I gather you're not a fan of), what it that you don't like about them? I've always considered Opeth to be very good in terms of composition and song structure (the complexity and variation - especially in their newer stuff - is what drew me to them in the first place), but maybe that's just me listening with my amateur ear.

Just curious.

Okay... well...

Most importantly, I just don't think it's very interesting or engaging.

Guitar sounds are washed out, dated, and lifeless.

Vocals are shit. Melodramatic when clean, and indistinguishable from any other cookie monster when cookie monstering.

Lyrics are cheese city. Melodramatic. Trite. Juvenile in a way that's stupid instead of funny or clever.

Songwriting is overall quite boring to me... no good hook, no good groove... they rarely seem to be able to just sustain rocking for very long.

Also, the videos I'm watching to listen to them are idiotic.

There is nothing dangerous about this music... to me it sounds like metal for people who don't really like metal, or who don't want any surprises... not that I guess I think musical surprises are necessary all the time... I love AC/DC, and they haven't surprised anyone in 30 years... maybe that's the wrong way to put it... hrm...

Top to bottom it's just very slick, produced, and safe... very 'done'... it sounds like a computer wrote it.

Also, I keep running into these kind of power ballad sorts of things that they are doing with pretty singing and crap... fuckin' kill me. It's awful. Fuck, yeah, I just ran into this song 'Burden', and I can now just declare this band fucking awful. Ugh... you guys are just making me listen to more and hate them more. SO TERRIBLE!

Oh, and I thought of one more... it tries too hard... at the wrong things. Like a metal band should only try hard at rockin'.

Interesting, thanks Kratz. Even though I completely disagree with everything you said (although I do concede the silly videos), I always like getting other people's musical opinions. It always amazes me how two people can listen to the same song/band/album and come away with such totally different viewpoints. You say there's no hooks, I think there's hooks galore. You say there's no surprises, I totally dig the multiple musical styles - often within the same song. You say juvenile lyrics, I don't hear anything worse than any other metal band. You hate the ballads, I enjoy the change of pace. Opeth isn't "XTreme Rock Your Face Off"-type metal, but I really only enjoy that stuff in small doses anyways.

But hey, at least we can all still agree that Jesus Lizard kicks epic amounts of ass, amirite?

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Anyone listen to Cannibal Corpse or Napalm Death, or Deicide, or Carcass?

Yep, then I turned 15. To me, the bulk of that type of metal is nothing but speed noise, and a lot of it (Cannibal Corpse probably being the worst offender) exists solely for cheap shock value. I'd say it's far more juvenile that 90% of what's been mentioned in this thread, but that's just me. I do enjoy the Slayer classics (what self-respecting metalhead doesn't), even though Arya's voice grates on my nerves like a motherfucker.